Optical properties and methods for uv treatment

Abstract

A UV light medium can be enhanced to provide specific optical properties that assist in distributing UV light from a UV source to achieve a defined UV light pattern and effective UV disinfection. The properties of the UV light medium can be selected and enhanced by loading the medium with additives, applying a UV blocking pattern, varying the UV light medium material type, thickness, shape, layering, or surface texture. The medium can be any material subject to UV light during a UV treatment or disinfection process. The UV light medium can create a generally uniform UV light pattern that reduces UV hot spots. The UV light medium can diffuse UV light at a target area to enables more robust disinfection with the same or lower UV source intensity.

1 . A UV disinfection device comprising:
 a housing;   a UV-C source installed within said housing, said UV-C source configured to emit UV-C light for disinfecting a target disinfection area outside of the UV disinfection device;   a reflector installed within said housing, said UV-C reflector configured to reflect UV-C light emitted from said UV-C source;   a lens joined with the housing and positioned between said UV-C source and the target disinfection area outside of the UV disinfection device, wherein said lens is configured to generate a generally uniform UV-C light pattern.   
     
     
         2 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 1  wherein the UV-C lens is a fluoropolymer material loaded with SiO 2  microparticles. 
     
     
         3 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 1  wherein the UV-C lens has a variable thickness. 
     
     
         4 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 1  wherein said UV-C lens is a fluoropolymer material loaded with SiO 2  microparticles and said UV-C lens has a variable thickness, which in combination contribute to said UV-C lens configuration that said relatively uniform UV-C light pattern. 
     
     
         5 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 1  wherein an internal surface of the UV-C lens includes a UV blocking pattern. 
     
     
         6 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 1  wherein an external surface of the UV-C lens is textured. 
     
     
         7 .- 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . A UV disinfection device comprising:
 a housing;   a UV-C source installed within said housing, said UV-C source configured to emit UV-C light for disinfecting a target disinfection area outside of the UV disinfection device;   a reflector installed within said housing, said UV-C reflector configured to reflect UV-C light emitted from said UV-C source;   a lens joined with the housing and positioned between said UV-C source and the target disinfection area outside of the UV disinfection device, wherein said lens is configured to generate a generally uniform UV-C light pattern;   a composite lens joined with the housing and positioned between said UV-C source and the target disinfection area outside of the UV disinfection device, wherein said composite lens is configured to produce a UV light pattern with reduced intensity closer to the UV source and provide an overall energy output pattern to a target distance and dosage with a generally uniform intensity pattern, the composite lens including:
 a primary lens with a first UVC transmissivity level; 
 a secondary lens with a second UVC transmissivity level greater than the first UVC transmissivity level; 
   wherein the primary and secondary lens cooperate to reduce or prevent UV hot spots during normal us of the UV disinfection device.   
     
     
         27 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 26  wherein the UV source is positioned offset from the target disinfection area and the disinfection device, including the composite lens, is positioned at a non-perpendicular angle relative to the target disinfection area. 
     
     
         28 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 26  wherein the properties of the primary and secondary lens material are selected by one or more of loading the primary and secondary lenses with additives, applying different UV blocking patterns to the primary and secondary lenses, varying one or more of material type, thickness, shape, and surface texture of the primary and secondary lenses. 
     
     
         29 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 26  wherein the lens material of the primary and secondary lenses are loaded with different amounts of additives providing different light diffusal properties. 
     
     
         30 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 26  wherein the primary and secondary lenses are joined and wherein the position of the secondary lens is offset with respect to the primary lens in order to generate a generally uniform UV light pattern when the composite lens is installed in a UV disinfection device oriented at an angle with respect to a target disinfection surface. 
     
     
         31 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 26  wherein the secondary lens is an insert held in place by the primary lens with a pair of fingers that at least partially surround the secondary lens. 
     
     
         32 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 26  wherein the primary lens is generally cuboid shaped and the secondary lens is generally in the shape of an elliptical cylinder. 
     
     
         33 . The UV disinfection device of  claim 26  wherein the primary lens includes a supplemental prism that juts inward away from the target disinfection area configured to creating a more uniform light distribution at the target disinfection area. 
     
     
         34 .- 94 . (canceled)